Iraqi forces clashed with Shiite militiamen Tuesday in the oil capital of Basra and gunmen appeared in several Baghdad neighborhoods as followers of Shiite cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr ordered a nationwide civil disobedience campaign to demand an end to the crackdown on their movement. Explosions rang out across central Baghdad as rockets or mortars fired from Shiite areas targeted the US-protected Green Zone for the second time this week. The violence was part of an escalation in the confrontation between the Shiite-run government and Sadr's followers - a move that threatens the security gains achieved by US and Iraqi forces. Sadr's allies have grown increasingly angry over raids and detentions against them by US and Iraqi forces, who insist the crackdown only affects rogue elements loyal to Iran. Sadr's headquarters in Najaf also ordered field commanders with his Mahdi Army militia to go on maximum alert and prepare “to strike the occupiers” - a term used to describe US forces - and their Iraqi allies, a militia officer said. Police imposed curfews in the southern towns of Kut, Hilla and Samawa, capital of Muthanna province. Police said fighting erupted in several Sadr City neighborhoods between Mehdi Army fighters and the Badr Organization, the armed wing of a rival Shiite faction. In several other districts, Mehdi Army militiamen continued what they called a “civil disobedience campaign,” forcing shops to shut. Hundreds of protesters marched in two districts demanding the release of Sadrists, witnesses said. In a statement read out by a senior aide, Sadr called on Iraqis to stage sit-ins all over Iraq and said he would declare a “civil revolt” if attacks by US and Iraqi security forces continued. He also threatened a “third step”, but said it was too early to announce what it would be. In Basra, Iraqi soldiers and police battled Mahdi fighters for control of key neighborhoods in Iraq's second-largest city, 550 km (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad. The fighting erupted a day after Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki flew there to supervise a security crackdown against the militias. Police and hospital officials reported that at least 22 people had been killed and 58 wounded in the clashes. Col. Karim Al-Zaidi, spokesman for the Iraq military, said security forces were encountering stiff resistance from Mahdi Army gunmen. British troops remained at their base at the airport outside Basra and were not involved in the ground fighting Tuesday, according to the British Ministry of Defense. Air support was being provided, but a spokesman could not say if it was US or British planes. __
